A Singapore-based mobile wallet operator, which hopes to tap on booming travel in the region, has secured the largest pre-Series A funding round for a fintech startup operating in Southeast Asia.
YouTrip, a multi-currency mobile wallet designed with travellers in mind, has raised $25.5 million in pre-series A funding from investors that include major Asian family offices and venture capital firm Insignia Ventures Partners, the company announced on Thursday.
The mobile wallet, which works with a linked pre-paid MasterCard issued by EZ-Link, allows users to pay in 150 currencies at 30 million Mastercard payment points worldwide with no hidden fees at wholesale exchange rates.
«The fintech space in Southeast Asia is developing at a relentless pace to meet evolving consumer expectations and the travel industry represents an immense untapped market at the intersection of this growth,» Pachara Lawjindakul, Principal at Insignia Ventures Partners, said.
«The success of the initial launch in Singapore provides a great foundation to develop a strong roadmap for growing the multi-currency and cross-border payments ecosystem in Southeast Asia.»
Booming Travel Market
With no minimum balance and free registration, YouTrip hopes to tap on booming travel among people in Southeast Asia, which according to the World Travel & Tourism Council, is one of the world's largest and fastest-growing outbound travel market. Outbound travel expenditure expected to reach $80 billion in 2020, from $67 billion in 2018.
Caecilia Chu, co-founder and CEO, YouTrip
Caecilia Chu (pictured above), co-founder and CEO of YouTrip, said the company will use the injection of funds on expanding to new markets in Southeast Asia, technology innovation to further develop its technical payment infrastructure, and new product features.
«Immense Opportunity»
Chu said she «recognises the pain points of travellers,» who face high overseas transaction fees and a dynamic currency markup when paying with bank-issued credit and debit cards, and «the immense opportunity to better serve their financial needs.»
She brought her experience working for fintechs Lufax and QF Pay in China, as well as Citibank, where she oversaw growth investments in the consumer and technology sectors, and McKinsey, where she advised financial institutions across Asia on market entry, customer segmentation, and retail product strategies.
Her co-founder Arthur Mak worked in product and technology roles for over a decade. Most recently he was product leader at Tencent's WeChat product centre in Guangzhou.
Since its launch in Singapore in August 2018, the app has been downloaded by over 200,000 users, and has hit over 1 million transactions, with the company growing to over 70 people.
